Succession to your tenancy

Someone else can succeed to your tenancy if you die, as long as they are a joint tenant, your husband, your wife or a qualifying family member, including a partner who is over 18 and who has lived with you for over a year. Only one succession is allowed to a property. If someone is going to make a claim for succession, they must do so within one month of your death. The successor will have the same tenancy conditions you had. If this results in the property being under-occupied or if the property has been specially adapted, they may have to move to smaller more suitable accommodation.

Assignment

Assignment happens when a tenant transfers a secure tenancy and all the associated rights to someone else. You will lose all your rights as a secure tenant if you assign your rights to someone else. Generally, we will only allow assignment where a court orders a transfer as part of divorce proceedings, or if you want to transfer your tenancy to someone who would be entitled to succeed if you died

You may only assign your tenancy by using a special document called a deed. By law, you may not assign the tenancy without our written permission and, if you do so, we may apply for a court order. We will accept as a ‘spouse’ a partner who lives with you as your husband or wife, even if you are not married. We agree this will include partners of the same sex.